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Pollen analysis of a post glacial peat deposit in Vancovuer

University of British Columbia

The main purpose of this study is to reconstruct the Post Glacial vegetational and climatic changes indicated by the pollen grains and spores preserved in the Camosun peat bog. Utilizing this knowledge an attempt is made to define the approximate age of the earliest microfossil deposits of this bog by comparison of the results with those of Hansen (1947). A single sample core was taken from the Camosun bog. The core was divided into ten centimetre channel specimens, each of which was macerated using a new technique. The macerated material, including the microfossils were mounted on slides, and percentage frequencies were obtained for the microfossils in each specimen. The frequency results were interpreted and conclusions drawn on the basis of the kind and number of microfossils recovered. It is concluded that the primary forest was composed mainly of Pinus, which changed later into a forest characterized by Pseudotsuga and Tsuga. Thus the climate appears to have changed from warm and dry to cooler and more moist. The approximate age of the first deposits is defined as ranging between four and six thousand years. Finally various suggestions for future work are presented, including proposals for future studies in the same bog, and methods for the improvement of palynological techniques in general.

Text

2012-01-13

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/40080

Botany

University of British Columbia

Graduate